Priti Patel Vows to Stop Asylum Seekers Entering the UK Via "Illegal" Routes
The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has promised to vastly change the UK’s asylum system in an attempt to deter asylum seekers from entering the UK.
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Priti Patel Promises to Change the UK Asylum System
Speaking at the Conservative party conference, Priti Patel has said that she will overhaul the current UK asylum system, as she claimed that the current system in place was “fundamentally broken”. The Home Secretary said that the new system, which seeks to prevent asylum seekers from entering the UK via illegal routes, would be “firm and fair”.
But human rights organisations have criticised Patel’s new plans for being anything but fair and lacking in compassion. Many even think an overhaul of the system could lead to another situation like the Windrush scandal.
Kate Allen, Amnesty UK Director, said:
“While many people in the UK provide support, friendship and hope to people forced to flee tyranny, torture and war, the Home Office has long sought to deprive many such people of their right to seek and enjoy protection here.”
(Image credit – amnesty.org.uk)
Responding to Priti Patel’s speech at the Conservative party conference she continued:
“Today, the Home Secretary has announced more of this – and it is shameless and nonsensical for her to claim to be fixing the asylum system while making it even less effective in providing the sanctuary that is its purpose.”
Home Office’s leaked plans for the asylum system
The Home Secretary’s speech comes shortly after leaked documents have recently revealed a list of draconian ideas from the Home Office to prevent asylum seekers from reaching the UK.
The “blue sky plans” that the government has been considering to deter asylum seekers included wave machines in the Channel, using disused ferries as asylum processing centers and even building an asylum centre on a volcanic island 4000 miles away from the UK.
(image credit – NASA)
In response to the leaked plans, Chief Executive of Refugee Action, Stephen Hale, urged the government to provide safe routes for asylum, rather than inhumane deterrents. He said:
“It’s deeply troubling that our Home Secretary even considered that this immoral and inhumane plan was a serious solution to a humanitarian crisis. Our asylum system is descending into chaos.”
A recent report revealed that despite their focus on illegal immigration, the Home office has not had any up-to-date figures on the number of undocumented migrants in the UK for at least 15 years.